Monday Apple Rumors: Almost Half of iPhone Users to Upgrade Right Away

by Christopher Freeburn | September 9, 2013 11:57 am

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Anticipation: With the launch of Apple‘s (AAPL[3]) new iPhones looming, a recent survey finds that large numbers of current iPhone owners are ready to upgrade their devices[4], VentureBeat notes. Apple will hold a media event on September 10 at which is its expected to unveil its new flagship iPhone 5S and a lower-priced iPhone 5C. Ask.com questioned 4,000 iPhone owners about their plans and found that 46% said they would purchase a new iPhone as soon as the new models were released. More than 60% expressed interest in the iPhone 5S, the higher-priced flagship iPhone. Among the features that iPhone users hope to see in the new devices, longer-battery life tops the list with 40% of users looking forward to less frequent charging. 34% said they wanted to see a fingerprint scanner to add security when unlocking their iPhones. Apple is widely expected to introduce range of new colors on the new iPhones, adding a gold version of the iPhone 5S and a rainbow of colors for the iPhone 5C. However, only 12% of current iPhone users are looking for new colors, according to the survey.

Button Change: Alleged leaked photos of iPhone 5S units that appeared over the weekend appear to show a silver ring around the home button[5], AppleInsider notes. If true, that would mark a radical departure from all previous versions of the iPhone’s home button, which has remained consistent since the iPhone launched in 2007. The ring is thought to be part of the fingerprint sensor that Apple is widely expected to feature in the new iPhone. Reports of the ring date back several weeks, but patent filings by fingerprint sensor maker AuthenTec — acquired by Apple last year — suggest that the ring is not simply an aesthetic choice, but rather a critical component of the fingerprint sensor. The patents indicate that fingerprint sensors under development by AuthenTec required the presence of some sort of border, functioning as an electrode to drive “a low frequency RF signal into the finger, which is attenuated by ridges and valleys in the print and finally captured by AC sensors as a high quality image.” Most analysts expect Apple to include AuthenTec’s technology in its latest high-end iPhone.

Delay: The iPhone’s debut on the world’s largest wireless carrier may take longer than initially thought[6], the International Business Times notes. Apple has reportedly negotiated a deal with China Mobile (CHL[7]) to carry the iPhone. Last week, Apple announced that it would hold a media event in Beijing shortly after its California event at which the new iPhones will be debuted. It is widely expected to announce the China Mobile deal at that event. However, Chinese media reports now indicate that the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will reach Chinese consumers on November 28, three months after U.S. consumers get them. The reports indicate that the new iPhones still have not received clearance from Chinese regulators. The new iPhones are expected to contain chips from Qualcomm (QCOM[8]) that will allow them to run on China Mobile’s wireless data network.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[9] stories.